Breeding Clams

contact btldreef she has breed many types f clams sucsesfully

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Originally Posted by Bla403 

Has anyone successsfully breeded clams in their tank before? I just got my second maxima for my reef and was wondering if anyone every had success. When my 1st maxima was alone, I would see him blow out more than water from his top hole but I dont believe they can self fertilize even though they have both sets of tools.

I have successfully bred Maxima Clams. It's not easy, I'll tell you that much, and I don't do it anymore, or at least have stopped for the time being. Once you get it down, it's not bad, but the inital stress makes many aquarists stop their efforts.

I will say, if you have one maxima clam and it is releasing sperm/eggs (gametes) into the water, more than likely, it is unhappy/stressed. This stress is usually do to a quick change in water parameters (salinity, temperature). They can no self fertilize.

Your clams need to be a minimum of 4 years old in order to be successfully. I had the best luck with larger specimens that were at least 6 years old (they're expensive, but worth it). Maxima clams grow about 1-1.5" a year so that gives you an idea of size/age. They really should be in their own tank, under high lighting, stable temperature and no skimmer ir you're going to consider breeding. You need really, really good filtration. I lost a lot of clams in the beginning, as do a lot of people. Getting them past metamorphosis and finding good cultures of zooxanthellae is tough, I happen to live in an area where it's easy to get.